


Snow Storms Be Damned

by cammystars



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, VanVen Day, VanVen Week 2018, christmas belongs to the gays now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 02:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17112932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cammystars/pseuds/cammystars
Summary: A little birdy told me this storm fucked up your Christmas plans, too. If you get lonely, come on over. Apt 31.-V





	Snow Storms Be Damned

**Author's Note:**

> umm so i literally haven't written fic since i was like 13 so bear with my rustiness, but i just really wanted to contribute to vanven day/week! it's my first time writing these characters, so apologies if they're super ooc but i hope y'all enjoy anyway because i had a lot of fun getting back into writing after so many years. merry christmas and happy (belated) vanven day!!

_A little birdy told me this storm fucked up your Christmas plans, too. If you get lonely, come on over. Apt 31.  
-V_

 

Ventus wakes up to a familiar ringing sound combined with a vibration that rattles against his bedside table. He sighs, squinting as his eyes adjust to the light and feeling around for his cell phone. When he finally gets a grip on it, he sees none other than his little brother’s face smiling back at him. Ventus swipes to answer.

“Hey, Sor-”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS, VEN!”

Ventus flinches as his brother’s voice pierces through the speaker, pulling the phone away from his ear for a second. It’s way too early for this kind of excitement. Still, he can’t help but smile a little. Christmas is Sora’s favorite holiday, after all. 

“Yeah,” he says through a sleepy chuckle. “Merry Christmas, Sora.”

“I woke you up, didn’t I?” Sora says. “Good to know you’re still a total lazy bum. Some things never change.”

“Hey,” Ventus laughs. “I thought living on my own this year would mean I get to avoid your annual rude awakening.” 

Sora hums. “Nope! Even if you’re not here in person, tradition is tradition.” Ventus smiles as he thinks about all the Christmases he and Sora spent together growing up, and how they all started the same way - with Sora pouncing on top of a sleeping Ventus and practically dragging him down to the living room. As annoying as it was, Ventus can’t help but miss it a little now. 

“So,” Sora interrupts Ven’s train of thought, “did Santa bring you anything?”

“Haven’t checked yet,” Ventus says playfully. “What about you?” 

“I don’t know yet, Grandpa’s not out of bed yet and he won’t let me open anything until he’s down here with me.” The childish anguish in Sora’s voice is completely laughable. He’s nearly 16 and still this passionate about Christmas - but as immature as it is, Ven would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little jealous of that light in Sora that hasn’t gone out just yet. 

“Hang tight, kiddo. That lump of coal will be yours soon enough.”

“Har har,” Sora retorts. They laugh together, but then there’s an almost uncomfortable moment of silence.

“Hey, Ven?” Sora says, gently this time. “All your gifts are here under the tree, too, ya know. Are you sure you can’t just come open them today?”

Ventus sighs. He sits up and pulls the curtain from the window next to his bed, frowning as he sees exactly what he expected to see. Snow falling relentlessly, completely covering the streets outside his apartment. “You know I want to, Sor. But with this storm, I’m not going anywhere.” 

“I guess.” Hearing Sora so dejected hurts. It’s almost as bad as the night before, when he had first told Sora he wouldn’t be home for Christmas. Ventus couldn’t get off of work for Christmas Eve, and by the time the store closed the storm had completely picked up and Ventus knew there was no getting home at that point. Sora had sworn that he _wasn’t crying, shut up Ven_ , but even through the low quality of the phone speaker, Ventus could tell that was a lie.

“Cheer up,” Ventus says, “I’ll come home as soon as I can, and then I’ll open everything. And you can open the gift I got you, too. It’ll be, like, Christmas 2.0.” 

“Yeah, you’re right!” Ventus can feel that Sora’s smiling again - thank god. “Maybe two Christmases isn’t such a bad thing.” 

“Exactly. Just don’t eat all the gingerbread cookies before I get there.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll save some for you.”

“Okay,” Ventus smiles, not completely convinced that Sora and his sweet tooth will keep that promise. 

“So, what now?” Sora questions him. “You’re just gonna sit in your apartment by yourself all Christmas?”

Ventus opens his mouth to answer, but quickly shuts it as he remembers what he had found the night before. After his rather emotional phone call, he caught a small piece of paper sliding under his door in his peripheral vision. He picked it up and skimmed over the words written in a familiar penmanship. The “V” on the bottom had sealed the deal - it was from Vanitas, his coworker and friend. Well, “friend” might be a bit of a stretch. Ven had met him a few times in the break room - a rather quiet guy, slightly built, with dyed black hair and gold eyes. Their interactions, while scarce, were mostly pleasant. The only things Ven really knew about him were that he was also from a completely different state miles away, and that his apartment was in the same building as Ven’s, just a few doors down. Maybe Vanitas would make good company, and besides, there was no point in both of them being completely alone on Christmas. 

“Actually,” Ven finally starts, “this guy I know - a guy I work with, Vanitas - he’s stuck here, too. He left me a note to invite me over his place right across the hall, so I won’t be by myself all day.”

“Vanitas, huh?” Sora repeats. “That’s nice of him. At least you won’t be alone.”

“Yeah,” Ventus muses. “Speaking of which, I should probably start getting ready. Call you later?”

“Okay, sure,” Sora says, the sadness ever so slightly returning to his voice. “I love you, Ven.”

“Love you, too. Try to have fun today. I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

 

_29, 30…_

_31._  
Ventus stares at the door, too nervous to knock just yet. It didn’t hit him until now how strange this was - to waltz on over to the apartment of someone you barely know to spend a holiday with them. He considers just walking away, but then he looks back down at the note in his hand. 

_If you get lonely, come on over._

If Vanitas didn’t want him here, then he wouldn’t have offered, right? That’s the final thought that convinces him to raise his knuckles and meekly knock on the door.

Vanitas opens the door faster than Ventus was expecting him to. Ven’s almost taken aback when he realizes this is the closest he’s ever been to Vanitas, and wow, his eyes really are gold. Ventus also catches a glint of silver just above his eye and - is that an eyebrow piercing? How long has he had that? Despite that, there’s a certain softness to Vanitas’s whole composure that Ventus can’t name. He’s wearing a red sweater and jeans, and it’s weird to see him so casual when all Ven has ever seen him in before has been his work uniform. 

“Hi,” Ventus says after a moment of silence. “I got your note, and, uh, yeah, I guess we’re both stuck here, so we might as well be stuck together.” 

Ventus curses himself for how awkward he sounds, but nonetheless, a ghost of a smile creeps across Vanitas’s face. “Yeah, that’s cool. Come on in.”

Ven complies, walking in past him. He’s immediately overwhelmed by just how… Christmassy the place looks. Not a single wall is bare - lights are strung across just about every inch of the room. There’s a fake Christmas tree in the center of one wall, brightly lit with colored lights and topped with a star. Ven takes note of a single box, sitting messily wrapped underneath the tree. Another wall holds two stockings, one marked with a _V_ and one with an _X._ To top it all off, there’s a speaker somewhere in the room softly playing jazz.

“Wow,” Ventus marvels. “You really went all out with the decorations.”

Vanitas stares at the floor for a second, but then smiles that faint smile of his again. “Thanks. At least someone gets to see them today.” 

Ven makes a note of that comment, but before he can think much of it, Vanitas is walking into the kitchen and calling, “you can take your shoes off by the door,” and Ventus does so. He watches as Vanitas reaches into the fridge and pulls out a brown paper bag. 

“I hope you like Chinese food,” Vanitas says as he places the bag on the counter and begins emptying its contents onto it. Container after container of Chinese takeout. Ven just stares in awe.

“Chinese on Christmas?” He asks, laughing a little. It’s just so far from what he was expecting that it’s kind of hilarious.

“Family tradition,” Vanitas shrugs. “You can judge me, or you can come stuff your face. Your choice.” 

Clearly, Ven chooses the latter. He walks over to Vanitas, who hands him a paper plate and a fork and says, “Take whatever you want.”

“Man,” Ven sighs as he scoops some fried rice onto his plate, “I don’t remember the last time I even had Chinese takeout.” 

“We only eat it once a year,” Vanitas responds between bites of his noodles. “I wasn’t sure if this restaurant was gonna be any good, but it’s not too bad so far.”

Ventus takes a bite of some kind of spicy chicken, humming in delight as he realizes exactly how hungry he really is. If he had been home with his family, he would have been stuffed with snacks and desserts by now. Now that he’s on his own, he can’t even remember if he had bothered to make himself lunch today. “It’s really good. Thank you - can I pay you back for it?”

Vanitas gulps down a piece of beef and shakes his head. “No worries, it’s Christmas. Eat as much as you want, I don’t want it to go to waste.” 

Ven doesn’t try to argue. Instead, he scoops another few pieces of chicken onto his plate and dives back in for more. There’s a silence as the two of them eat, still standing because, as Ventus notices, Vanitas doesn’t seem to have any kind of dining room table. There’s just a couch and a small TV in the corner of the room, next to the tree. 

After popping the last piece of broccoli into his mouth, Vanitas shoves his plate into a trash bag tied to the knob of a cabinet, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Ven pauses to watch as Vanitas turns towards a window behind the sink, lifting the curtains to see the same disappointing scene outside that Ven had seen this morning.

“How the fuck is this storm still not over?” Vanitas just continues staring out at the blizzard, and at the night sky that has turned into a hazy purple. 

Ventus swallows his last piece of chicken and shrugs. “I don’t know. At least it looks kinda pretty, though.” 

He swears he can see something in Vanitas’s face change, there. It’s as if his expression has softened, and the bitterness has turned into just plain sadness. The black-haired boy just blinks and stares at the snow covered streets, and Ventus isn’t really sure what he said but Vanitas’s longing eyes make him feel like he should apologize.

Vanitas doesn’t give him the chance, though. He just closes the curtain again and looks back at the other boy, and Ventus is too taken aback by the sudden eye contact to say anything. Vanitas seems to notice this. He raises an eyebrow (there’s the piercing again).

“You wanna watch a Christmas movie?” 

 

They had settled on “The Year Without A Santa Claus” after mutually agreeing that it was one of their favorites that neither of them have watched yet this year. Somewhere along the line, though, they stop paying attention, instead using it as background noise to their lengthy conversations about which brother was actually superior between Heat Miser and Snow Miser, which leads to a heated discussion on which of the four seasons is the best, followed by countless other conversations that Ven can’t keep track of. By the time Ventus has won an argument about gingerbread being the best Christmas cookie, the credits of the movie begin to roll down the screen, and Ventus decides to ask what’s been on his mind since he walked into Vanitas’s apartment. 

“So, um,” he starts, and Vanitas adjusts his position on the couch to meet his eyes. “Where would you have been today? If this storm wasn’t going on?” 

Vanitas’s gaze shifts to his hands in his lap. “Well,” he mutters, “I’d still be here. But I wouldn’t be alone. My little sister should have been here.” 

It’s way more information than Ven was expecting, it almost feels dirty - to suddenly hear this much about Vanitas’s personal life almost feels like an invasion of privacy, even though Vanitas is telling him himself. “I didn’t know you had a sister.” 

Vanitas gestures towards a shelf on the wall, and behind the garland strung on it, Ventus can see a picture frame. It’s a selfie; the young girl holding the camera has black hair, and she’s beaming as her other arm tightly holds a slightly younger Vanitas. Ventus notices the expression Vanitas’s face in the photo - there’s a warm smile on his face as he fondly looks at his sister. It’s a smile Ventus never could have previously imagined seeing on Vanitas’s face, but it makes something in Ventus’s chest feel warm. It’s a small, simple photo in a cheap frame, but he can feel the love behind it so poignantly. 

“It’s my first Christmas away from home, and she wanted to come spend it with me in my new place. She just got her license and finally saved up enough for a car - she was gonna drive down here last night and stay with me for a few days, but you know how well that turned out.” 

“Yeah,” Ventus says lamely, and then, with a bit more sincerity in his voice, “I’m really sorry, Vanitas. That sucks.” 

Vanitas looks up from his hands to meet Ventus’s gaze again. There’s a moment of silence, of thought, of searching, like Vanitas doesn’t know what to say back. 

“It’s whatever,” Vanitas decides. “It’s my fault. I should have stayed close to her, but I just had to get out of that town. As soon as she turns 18, I’m gonna help her get out, too. And then I’ll see her all the time, snow storms be damned.” 

“Snow storms be damned,” Ventus repeats with a smile. And when Vanitas smiles back, and something in Ventus’s stomach flips. 

“And you,” Vanitas says, lightly punching Ven’s arm, “you’ve got someone at home waiting for you, too, don’t you?”

“I do,” Ven sighs. “My little brother.” 

“Ah, that’s who you were on the phone with last night.” 

“Yeah - you heard us?” 

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Vanitas says, “I heard the other guys talking about how you were gonna be working on Christmas Eve and I just - these walls are paper thin, ya know. Last night, I was walking down the hallway, and I could hear you breaking the news. And I could hear him practically screaming through the speaker.” 

Ventus sighs. “Yeah, he took it pretty hard at first. It’s our first Christmas apart, and it’s his favorite holiday. He’s always been such a happy kid, it’s been years since I’ve heard him break down like that and - it was just hard.” 

“I hear you,” Vanitas nods. “That really sucks. Poor kid.” 

“Yeah. He called me this morning, and he sounded like his usual self again, but I’m worried it was an act.” Ventus is rambling and he knows it, but he also knows that Vanitas is _listening_ \- he’s looking at him with genuine concern in his eyes, nodding as he talks. 

“I’m sorry, Ventus.”

“It’s okay,” Ventus smiles. “At least I had you.”

Vanitas’s eyes widen for a second, but then he’s smiling warmly right back at Ven. “Yeah,” he says, through cheeks Ven can swear are turning pink, “I’m glad you came. I, uh, wasn’t sure if you would - it’s not like we’ve ever talked that much before. But every time I _do_ talk to you, you’re always cool and happy and,” he pauses, fidgeting with his thumbs. “I didn’t want you to be alone today, too.” 

Ventus stares at him and nods. He feels like he should be weirded out by how open they’ve been with each other since Ventus first walked in, but he really isn’t. It feels natural, easy even, talking to Vanitas. He had always appreciated their conversations, too - and now those conversations were expanding, saving both of them from having the shittiest Christmases of their lives. The word “grateful” floats around in Ventus’s head as he looks into Vanitas’s gold eyes. 

After what feels like forever, Vanitas breaks eye contact to stand and fumble with the DVD player. “Let me put in another movie. ‘Ya like Frosty?” 

“That’s my brother’s favorite.”

Vanitas hums as he places the disk in the player and closes the drawer. “Yeah. It’s Xion’s, too.”

“Xion,” Ventus repeats, remembering the glittery X he had seen scrawled on one of the stockings earlier. “Cool name. Sounds like she and Sora could be good friends.” 

“Maybe so.”

Vanitas presses play and sits back on the couch, and Ven can’t help but feel like he’s sitting a little closer this time. He can distinctly feel a warmth coming from Vanitas that most certainly wasn’t there before. It feels so inviting - Ven fights the urge to lean in closer. Instead he just looks over at Vanitas. The TV screen is reflecting off of his eyebrow piercing, and against all better judgment, Ventus reaches up to touch it lightly.

“How have I never noticed that you have this?” 

Vanitas lets Ventus’s fingers brush over the bar. “They make me take it out before my shift. It’s a massive pain in the ass.” 

“Oh, yeah,” Ven says, pulling his hand back, “that makes sense. The dress code is crazy. They won’t even let us get tattoos.”

“Well, not _visible_ tattoos,” Vanitas muses. When Ventus raises an eyebrow at him, Vanitas lets out a light chuckle. “Hey, man, I know we’ve been pouring our hearts out to each other all night, but I’m not about to strip down and show you my tattoos. Maybe next time.” 

Ventus doesn’t answer, he just sits for a second, taking in the comfort of the idea of there even being a “next time.” Maybe part of him had always hoped Vanitas would be more than just his coworker someday, and maybe that someday started when Vanitas slid that note under his door. On the TV screen, a newly alive Frosty the Snowman shouts, “Happy Birthday!” as Vanitas shifts even closer to Ventus.

 

Ventus wakes up to the music of the Frosty DVD menu screen. He wonders when exactly he dozed off, and how many times the song had looped by now and -

Wait. 

When did his head get on Vanitas’s shoulder? 

He quickly jumps to sit back up on the couch with a sharp intake of breath. 

“Good morning,” Vanitas teases, rubbing his own eyes. 

“I’m so sorry,” Ven rambles, “how long was I out?”

“Not long, the movie ended a few minutes ago. It’s fine.” 

Ventus looks back at him - he can see the smile on Vanitas’s face in the dimly lit room. The string lights give everything a dreamy haze, forming a halo against Vanitas’s hair. 

“The whole point of me coming here was so we wouldn’t be alone,” Ven says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t go falling asleep on you like that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vanitas insists. “You were good company, Ventus. I really appreciate you being here today.”

“I appreciate the invite,” Ventus smiles. “Seriously. Thank you for making this Christmas way less shitty than it could have been.” 

“Same to you.” Vanitas’s warm eyes are glued to Ven’s blue ones, and Ven swears he’s being pulled in by some invisible force those eyes hold. After all, that’s the only logical explanation for Vanitas’s face inching closer to his, for their eyes fluttering shut as Ventus feels Vanitas’s breath lightly on his lips and their faces get closer and closer -

Something in Ventus’s pocket vibrates, and the noise is enough for both of them to snap out of… whatever _that_ was. Ven blinks at Vanitas in surprise for a minute, until he realizes what’s happening. 

“Crap,” Ventus mutters, pulling his phone out of his pocket. His suspicions are confirmed when he sees Sora’s name and face lighting up his phone screen again. “It’s my brother. I told him I’d call him back at some point today.” 

“Oh,” Vanitas breathes. “Right.”

“I’m sorry,” Ven says. “This might be my cue to leave.” Truth be told, he really doesn’t want to - but he also doesn’t want to overstay his welcome. He had already eaten Vanitas’s food and fallen asleep on him, after all.

“S’all good,” Vanitas stands up off the couch, offering a hand to Ventus. Ven accepts it, lifting himself up and heading towards the door. “Maybe I’ll be a good big brother too and call Xion.” 

“I’m sure she’d like that.” Ventus smiles at Vanitas again, but as their eyes meet, he realizes his phone is continuing to buzz relentlessly and doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Vanitas breaks the stare and opens the door for him.

“Thank you again, Vanitas,” Ventus says over the vibrations. He steps out of the door and into the hallway, looking back at Vanitas one last time. “That was nice.”

“Thank _you_ ,” Vanitas says. “Merry Christmas, Ventus.” 

“Yeah. Merry Christmas.” 

With one last grin, Vanitas closes the door, and Ventus swipes his phone screen to finally answer Sora. As he walks back to his own apartment and Sora excitedly tells him all about his new video game their Grandfather had bought him, Ventus finds he can’t stop thinking about the warmth of Vanitas’s shoulder against his, or about the cool feeling of metal under his fingers as he asked Vanitas about his piercing, or about the sincerity in Vanitas’s voice as they shared stories about their siblings -

“Are you listening to me, Ven?” Sora says accusingly.

“Ah, sorry,” Ventus laughs nervously as he turns his key in the doorknob. “My mind is somewhere else. Tell me more about your game, it sounds fun.”

“Nah, you can just play it yourself next time you’re home. I wanna hear about your day. Did you end up hanging out with that guy? Vanitas, was it?”

“Yeah,” Ven replies, “We had dinner and watched some movies.”

“Dinner and a movie, huh?” Sora inquires, with his trademark playful tone. “Is he cute?”

“ _Sora!_ ”

“Come on, Ven! Is he? He is, isn’t he?”

“I’m _not_ doing this,” Ven says, and Sora just laughs.

“That means yes,” Sora chuckles. “Whatever happens, I’m glad you have a new friend, at least. I mean, who else do you even hang out with up there?”  
Ven plops down onto his couch with a sigh. “Point taken.”

“So you’re gonna see him again, right? You’re not gonna be by yourself all the time anymore?” 

“Yes, Sor,” Ventus says exasperatedly. _Which one of us is the older brother here, anyway?_ “I’ll see him again. At least, I hope I will.”

He hears a triumphant hum from Sora. “Good.” 

They talk for a few more minutes - well, it’s mostly Sora rambling about all his plans he’s made with his best friends for the Winter break. Ventus thinks about Vanitas, wondering if - no, hoping - he’s having a similar conversation with Xion right now. Vanitas’s words from earlier replay in his head. _Maybe next time._  
As Sora rambles on, Ventus’s eyes fall to a pad of sticky notes and a pen on his coffee table.  
_Next time._  
He tucks the phone between his ear and his shoulder to free his hand, and rips a note off the pad.

 

_Thank you again for today, I owe you one. Let’s get coffee sometime, on me._  
202-555-0133.  
-V


End file.
